A new generation of technologies will help power Silicon Valley out of its slump, but area leaders must pave the way by providing housing, educational and other resources to support recovery, a leading regional civic group says in a paper set for release today.

Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a nonpartisan public policy group, says it is releasing the paper to encourage local businesses and governments to discuss what steps they can take to prepare the region for the next upturn in technology.

Cycles of boom and bust have been a feature of the Bay Area's technology sector for more than three decades, the paper points out. Each downturn ended with a wave of innovation that turned cutting edge inventions into viable commercial products.

Silicon Valley's next generation of products will come from such emerging research areas as the convergence of biotechnology and information technology.

Some companies, for example, are exploring the development of "biochips," microscopic circuits that use biological materials, as a means of shrinking electronic components. Nanotechnology, the development of ultra-small mechanical components is another research area poised to take off.

But Silicon Valley is competing with such places as Boston and San Diego to establish itself as the commercial center for these emerging technologies.

To keep its status as the world's technology capital, the region must take advantage of the business slowdown to address social and quality-of-life problems that piled up during boom times, Joint Venture argues.

"The Valley is a habitat for innovation, but we need to work to keep it that way," said Marguerite Wilbur, Joint Venture's chief operating officer.

Among the most pressing issues are providing housing and training for low- income workers and ensuring that local schools prepare students adequately for careers in technology, Joint Venture says in its paper.